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LIBRARY OF COiNGRESS.# 



^UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. | 



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MR. STRONG'S 






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DELIVERED LORD'S DAY, JANUARY 6, 1828, 



SOOX AFTER THE 



ONE IIUxNDREDTII ANNIVERSARY 



OF THE 



ORGANIZATION OF THE CHURCH IN SOMERS. 



SKETCH 



OF SOME LEADING EVENTS 



HISTORY OF THE CHURCH AND CONGREGATION. 



BY WILLIAM L. S I RONG, A. M. 

PASTOK OF THE CHURCH IN SOM£US. 



PDBLISHEI) BY REaUEST. 



HARTFORD : 

rRI.VTED BT PETKK B GLEASOS & CO. 



1828. 
C/5 



fl Of 



A SERMON, &c. 



Deuteronomy 32 : 7. 

" Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations : ask thy 

father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee." 

The history of the children of Israel, is replete with 
instruction. From the first calling of their progenitor, 
down to the removal of the sceptre from Judah, and 
their dispersion among the nations, their faith was mark- 
ed with tokens of the Divine presence and guardianship. 
There is no period of their existence as a people, in 
which we may not select a variety of facts designed for 
the encouragement or warning of succeeding genera- 
tions. This is true, peculiarly, of that part of their his- 
tory recorded in the books of Moses, embracing their 
continuance in Egypt, their wanderings in the wilder- 
ness, and their miraculous entrance upon the promised 
land : a period more distinguished by Divine wonders, 
than even a much longer period in the history of any 
other people. For this reason, it is, that the period al- 
luded to, is so often mentioned by the inspired penman, 
and the children of Israel are so abundantly encouraged 
to make it a subject of their serious attention and inqui- 
ry. To this employment, the Jewish lawgiver invites 
his people, at the very moment when nothing but the 
swellings of Jordan, separates them from the object of 
their hopes and toils. " Remember the days of old, 
consider the years of many generations : ask thy father, 
and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell 
thee." Very few of those addressed by Moses on this 
occasion, were old enough to have witnessed the plagues 
of Egypt, or to understand, fully, the providences, which 
marked the earlier period of their deliverance. A i^ew 
of the fathers and elders remembered the wormwood 
and the gall, and. if inquired of, could tell of the scenes 
which they witnessed. From their fathers they had 
learned many things respecting several generations ; and 
they were hence prepared to hand down many interest- 
ing facts of their history, for the instruction of others. 



4 

The generation who then listened to the last counsels of 
Moses, might derive many advantages from inquiring 
after these facts. 

The history of other nations, though not exhibiting, 
so immediately, the hand of an over-ruling Providence, 
is not without its interest, and may be examined with 
signal advantage, by succeeding generations. Hence 
it has been ever so much of an object with the wise and 
good to induce mankind, and particularly the young, to 
study the history of their ancestors. The early history 
of this country, has awakened the liveliest interest of 
the childrej] of the Puritans, in every succeeding gene- 
ration. And there is no people, whose existence has 
been perpetuated during a century, or for several gene- 
rations, whose history is so devoid of incidents, and facts, 
ilhistrative of the principles of the Divine government, 
and of the connection of human actions, thai it may not 
be studied with gratification and advantage. 

It will be my object in this discourse, to inquire what 
things we should remember in respect to former genera- 
tions : a!jd then to suggest some facts in the history of 
this church and people. 

First, I shall suggest some things which we should re- 
-member, in respect to former generations. 

The inquiry would be interesting, should we apply it 
to all the past generations of men. It is, however, adapt- 
ed to awaken a deeper interest in a more particular ap- 
plication to the country to which we belong, or to the 
smaller communities with which we are associated. 

1. We should remember in respect to former genera- 
tions, tiiat ihey have passed away. 

" One generation passeth away and another genera- 
tion Cometh." The earth remains without essential 
change, during every successive period of our mortal ex- 
istence, but its inhabitants, are, in their turn, passing 
away. " Our fathers, where are they, and the prophets, 
do they live for ever?" Where are the generations of 
men that lived and acted before the tlood, those fathers, 
who resisted the encroachments of the great destroyer, 
for almost a thousand years? Alas, not one of them' re- 
mains to tell us the story of their times. Where are the 



patriarchs, those venerable men, "vvho were so long the 
depositaries of. the church of God ? Where are Saul, 
and David, and Solomon, and all the kinijs that sat 
upon tlie throne of Israel and Judiih : and where are 
Samuel, and that long line of prophets, whose names are 
associated with the penmen of the sacred records ? And 
where shall we look for the associates of our Saviour, 
the apostles and fathers of the christian church ? They 
have passed away : their work was finished, and they 
have been hurried, off the stage, to make room for the 
crowding generations that have Ibllowed them. Nor 
need we look so far back. Where are the many gene- 
rations of the fathers of this country, the first emigrants 
that set their feet on these distant shores. They left 
their country and their homes, to escape the persecu- 
tions to which their religion subjected them, and to en- 
joy, in this new world, the religious liberty which was 
deni(>d them in the old. Where are the Winthrops, 
the Bradfords, the Winslows, the Eatons, the Hopkinses, 
those pious and distinguished civilians, that adorned the 
chair of state, when our fathers first established a gov- 
ernment in New-England ? And where are those ve- 
nerable Divines, the Aliens, the Cottons, the Mathers, 
the Davenports, and a great variety of others, who were 
the fathers of the church ? They lived and labored 
for Christ, but the generation to which they belonged, 
has passed away. None of them have lived to witness 
the changes which two centuries have produced, and to 
rejoice, or mourn, as those changes have been friendly, 
or hostile to the cause of the Redeemer. Every succes- 
sive generation, from that period to the present, except 
that which is now performing its part on the busy stage, 
has come forward, and spent its day, and has then reti- 
red behind the curtain, to make room for others, who 
have, in their turn, passed to the land of forgetfulness. 

But we are more interested to inquire after the gene- 
rations of our fathers, who have, before us, walked these 
streets, and cultivated these fields. Including those 
who first settled this town, and those who are now on 
the stage, four generations have already taken their part 
in the important concerns of the community. With the 



exception of here and there an individual, who has out- 
lived his early associates, and stands as a connecting 
link between one generation and another, three of them 
have already passed away, and form the great assem- 
blage in our cemeteries. We learn the names of those 
who were the first settlers of this town, on the monu- 
ments which record the time when they lived, and the 
places where their bodies were laid. The names of 
Jones, of Sexton, of Root, of Pease, of Parsons, of Mor- 
ton, of Felt, of Kibbe, of Purchase, and of Chapin, are 
familiar in the early history of this society. But where 
are the persons whom they represented r They live only 
in their posterity : tiiemselves have ceased to be interest- 
ed in the affairs of mortals. The seconcf generation, 
some of them within the remembrance of my audience, 
have also, without exception, been numbered with the 
dead. A few of the third, are still tottering on the verge 
of their mortal existence. How many, my hearers, with- 
in our own remembrance, have passed away ! How 
many that, but yesterday occupied these seats, are seen 
no more among the living! Where are those fathers 
and mothers that, at the time of my ordination, occupied 
the advance seats, in this sacred temple ! A small num- 
ber are still with us : but by far the largest proportion 
have ceased to be found in our assemblies. Tiieir 
places are occupied by others. Since my residence in 
this place, almost four hundred and a quarter of its in- 
habitants, about one third of the whole population, have 
died. What amazing ravages has death made in the 
families of this people, even within the compass of a 
little more than twenty years. Cast your eyes at the 
commencement of almost any of our streets, and trace 
it from house to house, and mark the changes which a 
few years have made in the occupants, and what will be 
the result ? In how many instances will it be found, 
that the former tenants have passed away ; another ge- 
neration has taken possession. 

2. In remembering the days of old, we should consider 
the dealings of God with past generations, as a ground 
of gratitude. 

In the 107th Psalm, the writer rehearses manystriking 



instances of the Divine goodness, to the former genera- 
tions of Israel, particularly during tlieir march through 
the wilderness, and calls upon their posterity to cherish 
feelings of gratitude. " O that men would praise the 
Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the 
children of men." Many were the interpositions of God 
in their favor. He delivered them from their bondage 
in Egypt : fed them with food from heaven, in the wil- 
derness : defended them from their enemies, and, by a 
series of miracles, drove out the heathen before them, 
gave them cities to dwell in, and a fruitful country as 
their inheritance. These distinguished blessings impos- 
ed obligations of gratitude, not merely upon the imme- 
diate subjects of them, but upon their posterity. To 
these blessings they were indebted for the rich inheri- 
tance which had come into their possession. The same 
hand that delivered their fathers from the iron grasp of 
Egyptian oppression, broke the yoke, also, from the 
necks of their children. 

The same blessings may not have distinguished the 
early progenitors of every people, still there are others, 
that should awaken the liveliest gratitude. Every peo- 
ple may be called to remember many things in the ge- 
nerations of their fathers, to which they cannot look back 
without satisfaction, and ought not to look back, without 
hearts expanded with grateful emotions. Whatever they 
may be, most unworthily, does any people regard them 
with indifference. Have our ancestors been christians 
and not heathen ? Shall we not bless God that we were 
not born on the banks of the Ganges, that we did not 
draw in with our first breath, the polluted atmosphere of 
heathen idolatry, or Mahomedan imposture ? Were our 
ancestors eminemly holy men, and did they, in the closet, 
in the family, and in the sacred temple of the Lord, Hft 
up their fervent and unceasing supplications that their 
posterity might fear God and work righteousness ? And 
were they ever intent, in adopting a system of means to 
secure the object of their desire? Shall we not call up- 
on our souls to bless that kind Providence that favored us 
with such a parentage ? 

When we look back upon the generations of our an- 



cestors, do we (ind the finger of God directing them to 
the right way, turning their attention to the best means 
of securing the happiness of those who shouUl come af- 
ter them, succeeding the means of their choice, and 
brino:ing upon themselves, the blessings which they pur- 
posed to treasure up for their children ? Shall not our 
hearts instinctively inquire, ''what shall we render unto 
the Lord for all his benefits r" And especially, should 
we not bless the God of our fathers, if, in remembering 
the days of old, we find him inclining them to lay, deep 
and broad, the foundations of those civil, literary, and 
religious institutions, which are the glory of any people, 
where they are establi-jhed, and yield to a community 
so rich a harvest of blessings ? Base, indeed, must be 
that people, who, looking back upon such an ancestry, 
can so far deny, or overlook the providence of God, as 
not to acknowledge the obligations thereby imposed 
upon themselves. 

3. In remembering the past generations of their an- 
cestors, a people should consider them in comparison 
with the present generation. 

It is an opinion much too prevalent among many, 
that the present generation is wiser, and, perhaps, better 
tlian those which have passed away. Hence, former 
opinions, by this class of persons, are exploded, with 
scarcely a semblance of investigation, and the decis- 
ions of the pious, regarded, as little better than the 
surmises of well-meaning, perhaps, but bigotted men. 
Few there are, at best, that are disposed to admit the 
idea that the generation to which they belong, has al- 
ready taken some steps in a course of degeneracy. To 
this point, then, should we direct our attention, while 
we bring into remembrance the years of past genera- 
tions. What were their principles and characters ? Es- 
pecially, what was their engrossing object as a commu- 
nity ; the object to which they looked with a steady and 
absorbing attention ? Was it their solemn purpose to 
render every thing subservient to the cause of religion, 
and their practice to make their houses, houses of prayer, 
and to inculcate upon their children, the love and fear 
of God ? And what were their principles, in respect to 



9 

the influence which religion on 2;ht to have upon them- 
selves and othors, as members of civil society? Do we 
view ihem as laboring to moilel th(!ir forms of govern- 
ment, their schools, colleges, and religions inslitntions, 
all, with an ultimate regard to the prosperity of Christ's 
kingdom? These features, in the principles and cha- 
racter of former generations, (and they are not merely 
fancies, especially in reg ud to the first fathers of this 
country,) should be remembered, in comparison with 
what may prevail among those that are now upon the 
stage. Does the present generation stand upon the same 
eminence in point of moral principles and efforts? A 
remembrance of what is past, when contrasted with 
what is now present before us, may lead to the most 
humiliating conviction of modern degeneracy. What, 
on examination, will be found to be now the absorbing 
principle? What if it should be found that the icoiid is 
the object which occupies and fills the centre of vision? 
Some, indeed, do still prefer Jerusalem above their chief 
joy. They would regard every interest in subserviency 
to the interest of the Redeemer. But are these the feel- 
ings of the great body of «n?/ community ? Take a 
people uho may be regarded as possessing the greatest 
strength of moral feeling. How would the present j^-ene- 
ration, even in our own country, bear a comparison, in this 
respect, with their Puritan ancestors ? Has there been no 
falling away from the stern virtue of these vesierable men ? 
In what portion of this community can we find a state of 
things which will bear comparison with that which ex- 
isted among themf In what single town or parish, can 
we find a family altar in every house, the church com- 
prising almost every member of the congregation, and 
the prosperity of religion entering into the plans of nearly 
the whole community? 

Were we to look at the standard of 7n orals ^ which ex- 
isted in the first days of tliis country, and contrast, with 
it, the tone of feeling which marks the present genera- 
tion, should we not find, here, also, much cause for hu- 
miliation ? Where is the universal respect for the holy 
Sabbath, the general attendance on public worship, and 
the reverence for the name of God, which distinguished 

2 



10 

the character of our fathers ? Though these sacred 
things are guarded by human statutes, who does not 
know that the laws of the Sabbath are trampled upon; 
the public worship of God deserted by a large portion of 
the community, and his holy name profaned? "How 
is the gold become dim ! how is the most fine gold 
changed !" 

4. In looking back to fiprmer generations, we should 
remember their errors to m:oid them. 

While many are disposed to place an imdue value up- 
on every thing modern, and to depreciate, in the same 
proportion, every thing ancient ; there are some w ho 
fall into the other extreme. Every thing associated with 
ancient times is esteemed venerable, and not unfrequent- 
ly adopted witli little to recommend it except its origin. 
In this way a multitude of errors are covered over which 
materially subtract from schemes of public improvemenl, 
in other respects, most wisely conceived. But this is 
not a judicious consideration of the days of old. Let a 
wise discrimination be observed on this subject. Every 
thing is not wise which entered into the plans of past 
generations, not even the most enlightened. On this 
principle, every thing belonging to former years would 
be sanctioned, and the door to improvement be effec- 
tually closed. To how few things can we turn our eyes 
which have not been adopted into the early principles 
and practices of the most enlightened and even christian 
nations? Shall all these, without discrimination, be 
adopted into modern systems of civil society ? While 
we adopt those things which have received the sanction 
of experience, and are not to exchange them for new ex- 
periments, we should not imagine that there may not be 
found, in the best forms of government, in the wisest sys- 
tems of education, the most enlightened religious institu- 
tions, some things which ought to be discarded. Human 
wisdom, developed under the most favorable circumstan- 
ces, is not so perfect : human nature is not so pure. Let us, 
then, remember the errors of former generations, — let us 
hear the voice of their failures, warning us off from those 
rocks and shoals on which many of their fairest hopes 
have been shipwrecked. Let us avoid all those princi- 



11 

pies and measures, which have involved them in difti- 
cnhy, or which have been marked with the displeasure 
of God. By thus avoichng every thing which has been 
found to be fraught with mischief, and incorpoiatinginto 
our systems, civil, moral and literary, nothing but the wis- 
dom of former ages, we shall, as a nation, and as smaller 
communities, be blessed of God, and become partakers 
of all that happiness and prosperity which, in his provi- 
dence, he is pleased to allot to the present state of ex- 
istence. 

5. In remembering the years of past generations, we 
should consider the lessons of loisdom which they have 
left for their posterity. 

Every wise people, in making provision for their own 
welfare, will have respect to the bearing which the 
measures they adopt may have upon their unborn de- 
scendants. This is demanded by that law of benevo- 
lence which obliges them to consult the happiness of 
others, and by that natural affection which induces every 
man to desire the happiness of his own offspring. Hence 
it generally happens that nations, and even smaller com- 
munities, partake, to some extent, of the character of 
their ancestors. The principles which they adopted, and 
the institutions they established, as well as the habits 
they formed, are visible in the habits, the character and 
institutions of distant descendants. May we not say too, 
that a people owe it to their fathers, to cherish those be- 
quests which their wisdom and piety have handed down, 
and still more, if the inheritance has been purchased by 
privations, toils and blood ? 

Most defective, therefore, must be that view which a 
people take of the days of old, if it do not lead them to 
inquire into the principles they adopted, and the means 
they employed in laying the foundation of their future 
prosperity. Shall they not inquire on what principles 
they laid the foundation of their government ; what civil 
institutions were built upon it ; on what principles they 
established their religious institutions ; in what manner 
they guarded them against the undermining influence of 
worldliness and indifference; and in what manner they 
regarded schools, and the general diffusion of knowledge 



12 

in the community ? Into all these subjects which enter so 
essentially into the virtue and happiness of society, every 
people should be anxious to make the most dilio;er)t inqui- 
ry. Let them ask their fathers, and they will show them, 
their elders, and they will tell them. Do they find they 
were blessed with ancestors that commenced their ex- 
istence, as a people, in the fear of Cjod : ancestors who 
were careful to make provision for the establishment of 
all those institutions which they considered as adapted 
to make themselves and their children, free, enlightened 
and virtuous? And what do they find was the result of 
such a beginning ? Have a succession of genemlions af- 
forded evidence that righteousness exalteth a nation, ind 
that no people is so wise as that which lays the founda- 
tion of its institutions on the broad basis of civil freedom, 
a diffusion of knowledge through the community, and 
the fear of the Lord ? If these are found to be the con- 
sequences of such a beginning, how can those who have 
derived their existence from such a |)eople, regard their 
history in any other light than as instructing them how 
to secure their own welfare, and to transmit the greatest 
amount of good to their posterity, and cautioning them 
against abandoning a policy which has been so prolific 
in blessings Jipon their ancestors and themselves. 

VVe proceed, Secondly, to call to remembrance some 
facts in the history of this church and people, and to ap- 
ply the subject to ourselves. 

I am led to communicate some facts relative to our 
history, from the period in our existence, as a church 
and people, at which we have arrived. 

One hundred years, last March, the fifteenth day, or ac- 
cording to the reckoning since the establishment ol^ New- 
Style, the twenty-sixth, this church was first organized. 
It may be interesting and profitable to the descendants 
of those men who first associated themselves for the wor- 
ship of God in this place, and for us all, who at later 
periods have become connected with them, to look back 
and, as far as records, and ; uthentic tradition will per- 
mit, to review their history, and to trace their pro5»ress 
from their first organization to the stale in which we now 
behold ihem. 



13 

It is a fact well known to most of the audience, that 
this town oriicinally lorined a part of Knfitld,and lliat both 
were coni|)rehen(!ed in the limits of the ancient town of 
Springfield Enfield was first settled by a few families 
belon2:in2; to S|)rihi:fi('ld. In May, 16o3, these fiimilies, 
having obtained tl)e ap|»robati(»n of tho town to which 
they belonged, jielitioned the CJeneral Court of Massa- 
chusetts to be formed into a separate society, o*- township. 
In this petition they f)ray that its limits may be extend- 
ed ten miles from Connecticut river, in order that the 
town may contain a suitable proportion of good land. 
This peliiion seems to have been promptly granted, and 
in conformity to it, a town to have been laiil out, extend- 
ing from Long Meadow brook, six nnles on the river, and 
ten miles back to the mountain. This grant included 
not only Enfield as it now is, but the present town of 
Somers. There is one fact connected with our early 
history which I must not omit. The first settlers of En- 
field were not regardless of the condition and :ights of 
the Indians, nor dis|K)sed to take possessio»i of their lands, 
without compensatif)n. To extinguish their title to the 
land, granted them by the General Court, they stipulat- 
ed widi the Indians to give them twenty-five pounds 
sterling. Eor this sum, by no means inconsiderable, the 
cheapness of land, in those days, being regarded, the 
Indian Chief Totaps, or Totatuck, alienated all right, 
except that of hunting and fishing, v\hich the Indians 
claimed, or possessed, to the whole town. The instru- 
ment containing this alienation and conveyance is upon 
record, and bears date March 16, 1688 It must be 
grateful to the feelings of a christian people to reflect 
that they occupy lands, not taken from the original 
proprietors by force, but obtained by fair purchase. 

Although the grant of the whole township extending 
to the eastern limits of this town, was obtained from the 
Court and from the Indians, the eastern part was not set- 
tled, even by a solitary individual, for almost twenty- 
years. It was too far from the princijtle settlements in 
Enfield to tempt persons who could procure land much 
nearer, to come into the wilderness. It is difficult to 
say how far the few Indians that still hunted over these 



14 

grounds, for deer and other game, might have deterred 
the settlement. The enterprising spirit of our ancestors 
however at length broke through every difficulty. The 
first person that made the attempt was Benjamin Jones, 
from Enfield street. He commenced a summer resi- 
dence about the year 1706, near the foot of the moun- 
tain, on the principal road which passes through the 
town from Enfield to Stafford. In the winter and at 
other times when he apprehended danger, he returned 
to his former place of residence. 

The example of Mr. Jones was not followed by any 
for several years. About the year 1713, he was joined 
by some others from the older settlements in Enfield. 
From this time the settlement proceeded with more 
rapidity, so that within live or six years liberty was 
granted to build a pound for the convenience of the in- 
habitants, and about the year 1719, a bridge at conside- 
rable expense, was reared over Scanlick. Among the 
persons who resided in town as early as the year 1730, 
may be mentioned the names of Benjamin Jones, James 
Pease, Timothy Root, John Mc Gregory, Edward Kib- 
be, Robert Pease, Nathaniel Horton, James Killam, 
.Tosiah Wood, Nathaniel Collins, Benjamin Cittron, 
Ebenezer Jones, James Wood, John Davis, Joseph Sex- 
ton, Luke Parsons, James Blood, John Parsons, Thomas 
Purchase, Simuel Rockwood, Samuel Felt, Jonathan 
Purchase, Israel Kibbe, Jacob Kibbe, Benjamin Tho- 
mas and Joseph Fisk. Most of these persons came from 
the old town of Enfield. The rest from Pomfret, North- 
ampton, Wallingford, Longmeadow, Springfield, Men- 
don, and other towns. On examination it will be found 
that a large proportion of the present inhabitants are 
descendants from these original settlers. 

Soon after the first settlements, the inconvenience of 
attending public worship in Enfield street, led those 
who loved the habitations of Zion, to desire the preach- 
ing of the Gospel among themselves. Accordingly, as 
early as the year 1721, the town, on their desire proba- 
bly, voted that the inhabitants of the east part have lib- 
erty to hire preaching three or four months in the winter, 
and on condition that they do so, that they be excused 



15 

from paying their proportion of (he tax in the to\vn 
street. The next year the town voted the same privi- 
lege so soon and so long as they should have an able 
orthodox minister among them, or settled among them. 
About this time, it is probable, commenced those efforts 
which looked to the speedy settlement of a minister. 
This people did not however exist as a separate society 
until the year 1 723, when the town voted that there be a 
precinct in the east part of the town, the line commenc- 
ing at the mouth of Coronation brook, as the stream was 
then called, which runs across the main Enfield road, in 
the south western corner of Somers. From that time 
the town went under the name of the East Precinct, or 
East Enfield, and transacted its ecclesiastical affairs in 
the capacity of a society. The first records to be found 
are the records of the town existing as a precinct. In 
1734, it was separated from Enfield, and incorporated 
into a new ton n Avith the name of Somers. It was not 
until the year 1749, that the town transacted its business 
under the government of Connecticut. 

The proprietors of the original town of Enfield made 
early provision for the establishment of a gospel ministry 
in this place. As early as 1718, looking forward to the 
time when this would become a distinct people, they ap- 
propriated two hundred acres of land, and afterwards 
sixty acres in addition, for the benefit of the first settled 
minister. Besides this a few acres of Scantick meadow 
were given for the permanent support of the gospel. The 
value of the last mentioned land is still retained by the 
society. 

The people of this town made early efforts to procure 
and settle a minister. They did not however succeed in 
this object until the year 1727. On the loth of March of 
that year, on the recommendation of the association, they 
settled Mr. Samuel AUis. Mr. Allis was educated at 
Cambridge college, and studied divinity under Mr. Stod- 
ard, of Northampton, the maternal grandfather of the for- 
mer President Edwards. On the same day the church 
was gathered and consisted of nine male members ; no 
females having been of the number of the first church. 
At the first sacrament, the May following, twelve other 



1(5 

persons were added to their nmnber. 'I'he nanri^s of 
those first gathered into a church were, Samuel Allis, 
Nathaniel Morion, Josiah Wood, James Wood, Josiah 
Wood, Jr. Benjamin Thomas, Luke Parsons, Nathaniel 
Horton, Jr and Joseph Fisk. The persons added at the 
first sacrament were, Thomas Purchase, John Parsons, 
Robert Pease, Israel Kibbe, Samuel Rockvvood, Samuel 
Felt, with their wives, and Edward Kibbe. The next 
February eight more were received to full communion, 
making, including three or four received by letter, more 
than thirty persons. Such was the commencement of 
the church in this place, when all the inhabitants of the 
town consisted of less than two hundred. Four years af- 
ter the first organization of the chinch, in 1 731, a meeting 
house was built, when, as I have been informed, all the 
inhabitants of the town could sit at once on its sills. This 
house was situated a little north of where we now are, 
and though long unfinished, was occupied more than 
fifty years, and was not abandoned until September 30, 
1787, on which day the house where we now are wor- 
shipping, was first occupied. Mr. Ailis continued in the 
work of the ministry here about twenty years. In the 
spring of 1747, he was dismissed. He lived in town af- 
ter his dismission nearly fitly years, and died December 
18, 1796, at the advanced age of 91. During his ministry 
there seem to have been two or three seasons of special 
attention to religion among the people. The revival 
that spread over the country in the years 1740 and 1741, 
reached this church. Of this i\Ir. Allis gave some ac- 
count to the public in a letter to Rev. Mr. Cooper, of 
Boston, which was afterwards published in GiUies' His- 
torical Collection. This season extended over a part 
of two years. During sixteen months in 1741 and '42, 
about sixty were received into the church by profession. 
At a previous period, between the months of June, 1735, 
and May, 1736, there were admitted twenty-six to full 
communion. 

On the 6ih of July, 1748, Mr. Fregrace Leavett, from 
Sufiield, was ordained to the work of the ministry in this 
church. Mr. Leavett was graduated at Yale college in 
the year 1 745. He was possessed of a discriminating 



17 

sound mind : was a good preacher, and died after a little 
more than thirteen years service, aged 42, greatly la- 
mented by his people. From the early part of his min- 
istry there have been in this place, dissenters from the 
congregational mode of worship. During a considerable 
portion of the time which has since elapsed, a meeting 
has been kept up on the Sabbath, and for a part of it 
the meeting has been served by a minister particularly 
ordained for that service. This meeting was discontinu- 
ed about twenty years ago. For about five years past, 
meetings more or less stated have been held in the same 
part of the town. 

After the death of Mr. Leavett, the church made seve- 
ral unsuccessful attempts to settle a successor. At 
length serious divisions occurred: the church was divi- 
ded into two parts, worshipped and attended on ordi- 
nances at different places for more than four years. An- 
other meeting house was erected, and there was reason 
to fear that these divisions would terminate in permanent 
alienation. But in the good providence of God, every 
difficulty was happily adjusted, and the church became 
reunited, Decembers, 1773. 

On the 10th of August, 1774, Mr. Charles Backus took 
the pastoral charge of the united church. Mr. Backus 
was educated at Yale College, and studied divinity with 
the Rev. Doctor Hart, of Preston. The sermon at his 
ordination was preached by the Rev. John Ellis, of 
Franklin. His continuance in the ministry was about 
twenty-nine years. During more than two years, the 
latter part of his life, he languished under a threatening 
consumption, occasioned by the rupture of a blood ves- 
sel, which finally removed him from the world, Decem- 
ber 30, 1803. Dr. Backus was justly esteemed by his 
people while living, and lamented at death. Theological 
seminaries not having then come into existence, nearly 
fifty persons sought his instruction in Theology, and such 
of them as are yet among the living, as do many others 
with whom he was associated, continue to cherish his 
memory with affection. During the ministry of Dr. 
Backus, he informs us, in a sermon published near the 
close of his life, there were four seasons of special revival. 

3 



V6 

These occurred in the years 1774, 1783, 1797, and 1800, 
the second and third seasons brought large numbers into 
the church. During the twenty-nine years of his minis- 
try about two hundred and eighty were received into this 
branch of the christian family. 

Your present pastor was ordained, April 3, 1805. The 
church then consisted of about two hundred members. 
Of these many have been recommended to the care of 
sister churches, and many have gone to their long home. 
Since my ordination we have been blessed of a merciful 
God, with several seasons of religious revival. The first 
occurred during the winter and spring of 1809 ; the se- 
cond in the summer of 1820; and the third and greatest 
in the summer and fall of 1822. Besides these revivals 
there have been two or three other periods, when the 
church has been refreshed, and a few have been added 
to the Lord. In the whole, there have been added to 
the church during my ministry two hundred and eighty- 
eight. The present number on our records is two hun- 
dred and forly-two. Of these about eighty are males, 
and one hundred and sixty-two females. It is worthy of 
remark that this church has from the beginning been 
served by those who held the doctrines of the New-Eng- 
land fathers, who encouraged revivals of religion, and 
who received none into full communion in the church 
but upon a profession of piety. The covenant now used 
in the admission of members is the same that has been 
used from the first. 

In giving a history of this church we must not omit to 
speak of those who have sustained the oflice of Deacon. 
The two first who were chosen were James Wood and 
Nathaniel Horton, Jr. They were appointed to that 
office April 20, 1728, one year after the organization of 
this church. They continued to serve the church, the 
former forty-five, and the latter forty-six years. Deacon 
Wood was seized witli a nervous shock about six years 
before his death; he died February 12, 1779, aged 83. 
Deacon Horton resigned his ottice in 1774, and died 
June 6, 1790, aged 94. On the day of his resignation 
his son, Nathaniel Horton, was chosen to his place. In 
1777, he removed from this town. June 7, 1775, Joshua 



19 

Pomeroy was chosen to the office of Deacon. Two years 
after, June 18, 1777, the church appomted Joseph Sex- 
ton, Jr. to that office, and Aaron Horton the son of the 
first Deacon Horton. Deacon Ilorton, on account of ill 
health, resigned his office in 1796, and died August 13, 
1800. in the 67th year of his age. Deacon Pomeroy 
died September 5, 1 823, aged 86. Deacon Sexton died 
January 16, 1819, aged 94. September 30, 1796, Jabez 
Collins was chosed to the office of Deacon. In the 
sprino; of 1807, in consequence of the age and infirmities 
of Deacons Pomeroy and Sexton, the church excused 
them at their request from the active duties of their of- 
fice, and chose Samuel Reynolds and Solomon Billing. 
Deacon Reynolds bavins: removed to Longmeadow in 
1824, the church, November 23, 1826, chose David 
Cady to supply his place. Four of these ten are still 
among the living. Of the six who have been called to 
give an account of their stewardship, we know not but 
we may speak with decided approbation. They served 
God and his church faithfully, and we trust have fallen 
asleep in Jesus. 

When this town was first settled, very small advantages 
were enjoyed by the young for experiencing the benefit 
of schools. While it existed as a precint of Enfield, ap- 
plication was made to the town on the subject of money 
that had been paid by the precinct, probably, into the 
town treasury for the support of schools, and in 1731, the 
town voted to move the town school to the East Precinct, 
over Scantick. For many years, even within the me- 
mory of individuals now beibre me, there was but one 
school in town. The only school house which was 
erected for years, was situated within a few rods of 
where I now stand. This school was kept only a few 
months in the year, and was occasionally moved into 
various parts of the society. The proprietors of lands 
in Enfield, seem never to have considered to how great 
advantage they might employ their power, in making 
a donation of land for the encourngement of schools. 
They gave aid to the society in the settlement of a 
minister ; and the records inform us that they gave fifty 
acres of land to Thomas Purchase to encourage him to 



20 

commence his business as a black-smith, in this place. 
Still it is to be regretted that nothing was granted for 
the encouiagement of schools. It is matter of thank- 
fulness that through the bounty of the State, and the 
more just estimate in which literary instruction is held 
by the people, the advantage of schools is more exten- 
sively enjoyed. 

The common allotments of Providence, bolh merciful 
and afflictive, have been experienced by this people. 
Death has in every generation swept away its multitudes, 
and in several instances fevers and dysentery have pre- 
vailed, and carried oft" in a single year, in one instance, 
one in twenty-nine, and in another, about one in tvvenly- 
six of the inhabitants, and our grave-yards contain more 
than walk in our streets. Still there have been an un- 
usual number that have lived to old age. For the last 
fifty years, not less than one- fifth of the inhabitants of 
the town have lived to the aiic of seventy, and in one 
iiistance since I have served here in the ministry, seven 
persons have been living at one time who were ninety 
years old. 

In reviewing our past history we find abundant cause 
for unfeigned gratitude. The days of old with which 
the fathers and ancient records have made us acquaint- 
ed, furnish evidence of the wisdom and piety of the 
men who laid the foundation of our institutions. It is a 
ground of grateful recollection, that the fathers of this 
town entertained such just views of what belongs to a 
wise, virtuous, and prosperous community. They made 
early provision for the support of the Gospel. A minis- 
ter was settled before there were two hundred inhabitants 
in the place. A meeting house was early built for the 
accommodation of the people. And it is worthy of parti- 
cular notice, that with very short interruptions* the Gos- 
pel has been statedly preached here from the beginning. 
Nor has the dispensation of the Gospel been in vain. God 
has poured out his Spirit, and the number who have 
made profession of religion, has been very considerable, 
larger perhaps than in most places compared with the 
number of inhabitants. For this we are indebted to God 
in the first instance, and then to the wisdom and piety 



21 

of the first inhabitants of the town. They looked to the 
generations that shonkl come after, and taught their 
children by precept and example to prize the institutions 
of religion. Had it been otherwise, their children would 
probably have grown up insensible to the value of chris- 
tian privileges, and would have transmitted to unborn 
generations, the principles and views which a disregard 
for the Gospel and its institutions rarely fails to beget. 
Instead of being now engaged in this consecrated tem- 
ple, and sitting in heavenly places in Christ .lesus, the 
members of this church and congregation would, not 
improbably, have spent these sacred hours in pursuing 
their own employments and finding their own pleasures. 
How much is due to God that they were placed on such 
an eminence at the commencement of their associated 
existence ! 

Let it be remembered that these facts in the history 
of this people, not only demand gratitude, but address 
a language to all succeeding generations. They bid the 
guardians of the public interests to cherish those princi- 
ples and institutions which their fathers cherished, and 
which, during a century, have brought such an amount 
of good to bo\h the church and town. The same causes 
may be expected to produce the same edects. An op- 
posite policy will be attended with different results. — 
" Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles ?" 
Would you^my brethren, perpetuate the blessings which 
have been handed down from Ibrmer generations, you 
must {)erpetuate the moral causes which produced these 
blessings. In vain will it be for you to expect them 
without. Shut up the doors of the sanctuary ; neglect 
to teach your children to read; put out the light of the 
Gospel; close up the leaves of the Bible ; and obliterate 
as lar as possible every impression of a future judgment 
and eternal retribution ; and if there be not a growth of 
infidelity and open profligacy, which will endanger even 
the very existence of society, it will be because depravity, 
abashed by her own deformity, voluntarily stops short of 
the object toward which her steps are directed. Point 
me to a place where there is no preaching of the Gospel, 



22 

no assembling for the worship of God, no rehgious in- 
struction of children, and no intellectual cultivation, and 
I will point you to a place where there is no Sabbath, 
no moral principle, a general corruption of morals, and 
every evil work. 

Two classes of persons are deeply interested in the 
instruction w hich a review of our history presents. 

1. Those who are now on the stage of action. 

The fathers have passed away. But they have left 
their counsels and their example, and what is more, 
their principles have been tested by the fruits of a hun- 
dred years. We have occasion, indeed, to mourn that 
there exists among us so much over which the early 
fathers of this people, could they for a moment take 
their stations in our houses and walk our streets, would 
weep. Still there are many things which they would 
regard as testimonials to the value of the institutions 
which they planted. Upon those who are on the 
stage of action, it now devolves to carry forward the 
work of former generations. You owe it to the fathers 
of this town ; you owe it to their children of distant ge- 
nerations, to perpetuate the privileges and blessings, 
which they have transmitted to them, through your 
hands. liCt them not die in your keeping. If you have 
any love for the cause of religion, or any regard for fu- 
ture generations, guard well the trust committed to you, 
and if it should fail to reach the most distant periods of 
your history, let it not be through any negligence or un- 
faithfulness of yours. Cultivate a deeper conviction of 
the value of all those institutions, which have been for 
so many generations the glory of New-England, and the 
Ibundation of the moral and religious prosperity of this 
people ; and let no labors and no sacrifices be deemed 
too great to perpetuate them. Should you pass them 
safely through your hands, future generations will rise up 
and bless you, and it may be ho[)ed that those to whom 
you transmit them will continue the transmission, and 
that they will eventually reach the most distant times. 



Then will faith be found amonci: this people, when the 
Son of man shall make his appearance. " Ev en so come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

2. To the youth in this place the subject speaks ii 
loud and solemn language. 

My dear young friends, your fathers, to whom it now 
belongs to be active in the concerns of the church and of 
the town, will soon pass away. Soon their voices will be 
silent in death. They will no more be able to |)lead on 
God's behalf, or to give their influence in favor of mo- 
rality. To you who will soon take their [)laces, we turn 
with deep solicitude. Can we depend on the youth in 
this place, when their fathers are dead, to love and cher- 
ish the inheritance bequeathed to them ? When you 
occupy their places, and when your voices, your exam- 
ple and influence, will determine the destinies of this 
people, will you cherish the same institutions? Will you 
attend on the worship of God ? Will you contribute your 
influence and your substance, so far as may be needful, 
to support public worship, and to perpetuate all those 
institutions which are connected with the Sabbath, and 
which have a mighty influence on the habits and moral 
feeling of the community ? My young friends, you can- 
not undervalue these institutions innocently. A vast re- 
sponsibility rests upon those who will soon take the af- 
fairs of this town, and this society, into their hands. To 
God you are responsible, and to posterity. Distant ge- 
nerations demand of you, that you faithfully guard their 
interests, nay, they entreat you with imploring hands, that 
you do not rob them of the civil and religious privileges 
which their fathers have transmitted to you to be sent 
down to them. May you be a generation eminently de- 
voted to God. May you love the courts of the Lord, 
and be partakers of the grace of that Gospel which bring- 
eth salvation. May God Almighty bless you and keep 
you, and make you blessings to thousands yet unborn ; 
and when you have served him and your generation ac- 
cording to his will, may you go to join the company of 
the fathers of this people, who loved the Gospel and are 
now inheriting the promises. 



24 

Finally. Brethren and friends of this congregation, let 
me remind you and myself, that we are rapidly passing 
toward the eternal world. " Our fathers, where are 
they r" Like them we shall soon lie down in the dust 
of death, and our immortal spirits appear before the Son 
of man. Another year of our mortal existence is fled, all 
that remains will soon be past. May we yield up our 
hearts to (jlod. " Blessed are they that do his command- 
ments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
may enter in through the gates into the city." 



r^ 



